Anna McNeary is an interdisciplinary artist working in printmaking, fiber, sculpture and installation. Her work draws on the familiarity and symbolism of pattern, decoration, garments and domestic materials. By gently subverting motifs, spaces and objects reminiscent of comfort and functionality, she explores the necessity of intimacy, the pressures of social performance, the implications of labor and repair, and the complicated dynamics of emotional exchange.
She holds an MFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design, and has exhibited at venues across the United States, including Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center’s {Re}HAPPENING Festival (Asheville, NC), The Compound Gallery (Oakland, CA), Newport Art Museum (RI), and International Print Center New York. Selected residencies and awards include a Post-Graduate Apprenticeship at The Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia, PA), a Monson Arts residency (Monson, ME), and a Santa Fe Art Institute residency (NM). She is currently based in Providence, RI where she teaches at Rhode Island School of Design, and is a member of The Wurks art cooperative.
Anna McNeary
EDUCATION
2018 MFA, Printmaking (with Collegiate Teaching Certificate), Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2012 BA, Sociology, Smith College, Northampton, MA
GRANTS, AWARDS, RESIDENCIES
2022 Artist in Residence, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE
2021 Artist in Residence (Labor Residency), Santa Fe Art Institute, NM
2019 Artist in Residence, Monson Arts, Monson, ME
2018 Summer Post-Graduate Apprentice, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Honorable Mention, 4th Annual Student Artist Book Competition, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Graduate Studies Grant, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Graduate Student Conference Fund Grant, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2017 Graduate Fellowship, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Presidential scholarship, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO
2016 Graduate Fellowship, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2013 Arnold P. Gold Foundation Grant, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Ladies of Letterpress Student Grant, Asheville, NC
SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2020 Curtains, AS220 Reading Room Gallery, Providence, RI
2016 Seams & Cicatrices, with Chloe Bensahel, The Compound Gallery, Oakland, CA
2015 A Year in Rotation, with Jack Angiolillo, Catalyst Gallery, Beacon NY
A Year in Rotation, with Jack Angiolillo, Amherst College, MA
2014 Hiding in Plain Sight, with Mary Burger, The Compound Gallery
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Lost & Found, Dye House, Providence, RI
Tiny Showcase IRL, World’s Fair Gallery, Providence, RI
RISD Faculty Exhibition and Forum ’21, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Prints for Protest, Cherry Street Pier, Philadelphia, PA
2020 Call & Response, Newport Art Museum, RI
ArtsSpeaks Group Show, The Wurks Gallery, Providence, RI
2019 Danseuses de Papier (costumes for performance created by Reza Farkondeh), Pace Prints, New York, NY
Woonasquatucket River Greenway Arts Group Exhibition, The Wurks Gallery
Umbra: New Prints for a Dark Age, juried by Alison Saar, International Print Center New York, NY
Dead Ringer, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI
Great Hope, Annex Gallery at Monterey Peninsula College, CA
Prints for Protest, Second State Press, Philadelphia, PA
2018 Great Hope, Tiny Town Gallery, Tucson, AZ
RISD Grad Show, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
{Re}HAPPENING, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Swannanoa, NC
You’re Invited, Gelman Gallery, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Between Us, Not Gallery, Austin, TX
Printmaking Triennial Exhibition, Rhode Island School of Design
4th Annual Student Artist Book Exhibition, Rhode Island School of Design
Great Hope, Union Gallery, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
2017 Mutual Encounters, Gelman Gallery, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Touchable, Granoff Center, Brown University, Providence, RI
Off the Wall, Exposé Gallery, Providence, RI
Performance: Object, Body, Narrative, Tap Room, Providence, RI
2016 Common Multiples: RISD Printmaking Biennial, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI
Sensorium, The Compound Gallery
2015 6th Annual CUMC Fine Art Exhibition, Columbia University, New York, NY
2014 Smoky’s Boutique: A Menagerie of Insanity, Blackball Universe, Oakland, CA
2013 Printocracy, Asheville BookWorks Gallery, Asheville, NC
Homegrown Alphabets, Asheville BookWorks Gallery
2011 Arches Seventh Biennial Student Print Exhibition, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA
COLLECTIONS
2018 Special Collections Archive, Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design
2017 Prints, Drawings and Photographs Collection, RISD Museum
2011 Amherst College Print Collection, Amherst, MA
CURATORIAL
2018- Curatorial Assistant, Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI
2019
2016 Our America, co-curated with Aaron Field Simmons. Gelman Gallery, RISD Museum
2014- Limited Edition Gallery, Creator, Co-Curator, and Project Manager, John McNeil Studio, Berkeley, CA
2016
2012- Gallery Coordinator, Asheville BookWorks, Asheville, NC
2013
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2022 Adjunct Instructor, Studio Foundation, Brown University, Providence, RI
Adjunct Instructor, Drawing I, Wheaton College, Norton, MA
Adjunct Lecturer, Senior Printmaking Workshop, Spring, Rhode Island School of Design
Adjunct Instructor, Drawing Intensive, Precollege Program, Brown University
2021 Adjunct Lecturer, Printmaking Senior Seminar, Rhode Island School of Design
Adjunct Lecturer, Junior Printmaking Workshop, Fall, Rhode Island School of Design
Adjunct Instructor, Silkscreen, Brown University
Adjunct Instructor, Drawing Intensive, Precollege Program, Brown University
Adjunct Critic, Graduate Printmaking II, Rhode Island School of Design
Adjunct Instructor, Studio Foundation, Brown University, Providence, RI
Adjunct Lecturer, Junior Printmaking Workshop, Spring, Rhode Island School of Design
Adjunct Professor, Drawing Across Media, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA
2020 Adjunct Instructor, Silkscreen, Brown University
Adjunct Instructor, Studio Foundation, Brown University
Adjunct Lecturer, Printmaking Senior Seminar, Rhode Island School of Design
Adjunct Professor, Printmaking II, Pine Manor College
Adjunct Professor, Images to Ideas, Pine Manor College
Visiting Artist, Creative Strategies, Webster University, Webster Groves, MO
2019 Adjunct Instructor, Studio Foundation, Brown University
Adjunct Instructor, Drawing Intensive, Precollege Program, Brown University
Adjunct Professor, Printmaking I, Pine Manor College
Adjunct Professor, Images to Ideas, Pine Manor College
Visiting Critic, Senior Sculpture Seminar, Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI
Teaching Artist, Providence Public Library, Providence, RI
Teaching Artist, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Instructor, Relief Printmaking, Continuing Education, Rhode Island School of Design
2018 Adjunct Instructor, Silkscreen, Brown University
Instructor of Record, Printstallation, Rhode Island School of Design
Teaching Artist, Providence Public Library
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thibodeaux, Julianna. “Ten Emerging New England Artists.” Art New England. Volume 42, Issue 2. March/April 2021.
Neville, Beth. “Call and Response: Newport’s Joyous Puzzle With Many Surprises.” Artscope. November/December 2020.
Chang, Alison W. “Prints in a Time of Political Madness.” Art in Print. Volume 7, Number 3.
Maynar, Elizabeth. “Unraveling Our Truths: Dead Ringer.” Art New England. Volume 40, Issue 3. May/June 2019.
Nadalin, Christy. “A Different Kind of Show.” Bristol Phoenix. Volume 183, Number 23. June 6, 2019.
Rubin, Julia. “‘Dead Ringer’ Exhibit is a True Collaboration.” Roger Williams University News. July 10, 2019.
PUBLICATIONS
The Shapes of Birds: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa. Edited by Francine Weiss (Newport Art Museum, 2018). Exhibition catalogue.
SPECIAL PROJECTS AND AFFILIATIONS
2022 Gallery Committee, The Wurks Art Collective, Providence, RI
2021 Leadership Board Member (Communications Committee, Diversity & Inclusion Committee), Prints for Protest, Providence, RI
2019 Awards Liaison, Site Committee, SGCI Verified by Proof Conference (Providence, RI, postponed to 2024)